Hearing the assistant’s words, Zhou Zhuofei instinctively glanced at the mirror again to make sure everything was fine before nodding.
Immediately, the person who had been hiding behind the curtain greeted those outside in one smooth motion and pulled the curtain open.
The pulley moved swiftly along the track, emitting a soft rumbling sound.
A graceful and enchanting figure appeared before everyone.
The designer murmured approvingly and stepped forward, circling Zhou Zhuofei carefully, scrutinizing her.
Xiao Wang remained where he was, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on Zhou Zhuofei standing on the round platform.
Although he had thought the dress would suit her well, he hadn’t expected it to be this perfect. The moment the curtain was drawn back, the entire room seemed to brighten with this splash of green, and the surrounding noise dimmed into insignificance.
From then on, his eyes could see nothing but Zhou Zhuofei.
The designer made a round of inspection and listed the details that needed adjustment for the assistant to note down. Then she asked Zhou Zhuofei, “Miss Zhou, do you have any ideas about the makeup and hairstyle? This dress suits an updo best.”
As she spoke, she gestured toward the neck area, “A more luxurious necklace would be ideal—gold or silver would both work.”
“Well…” Zhou Zhuofei did have some jewelry, but nothing that could be called luxurious. She was just wondering whether to ask Du Yu for help.
Xiao Wang’s voice cut in: “I’ll take care of that.”
Zhou Zhuofei looked up and saw him approaching, flashing an appreciative smile at her. “You really look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” Her tone unconsciously brightened. Indeed, wearing a beautiful dress made a person feel happier.
With the dress issue settled, the two left the studio. Once outside, Xiao Wang checked the time and asked if Zhou Zhuofei was hungry.
She had already troubled Xiao Wang so much; she couldn’t bear to impose further and immediately replied that she wasn’t hungry.
In fact, she had eaten a few pieces of chocolate before coming.
“Then I’ll take you home.”
They got into the car, and Xiao Wang told Zhou Zhuofei about the schedule for tomorrow. The event would start in the evening; she could go home after work to prepare, and Xiao Wang would pick her up later for makeup and styling.
Hearing this, Zhou Zhuofei asked, “Don’t you need to handle anything for General Manager Ling?”
Xiao Wang explained, “Why would I need to manage General Manager Ling’s affairs? There are professionals assigned to that.”
“That’s true.” Zhou Zhuofei tapped her head. Lately, she had indeed been mixing up reality and novels. “I must have been confused.”
In those domineering CEO novels, secretaries are always running around, but thinking carefully, there’s no way one person can handle everything alone—there’s naturally a professional team behind the scenes.
“So, it’s settled then? I’ll come pick you up.”
“Okay.”
Once home, Zhou Zhuofei sent the photos she had hurriedly taken during the fitting to Du Yu. Good things were meant to be shared.
Du Yu offered plenty of suggestions on how to match the pieces, and they discussed for quite a while. Zhou Zhuofei also told Du Yu about her plans.
[So, if that little girl doesn’t intend to acknowledge you, Jiang Shen is planning to take action?]
[Hmm… I haven’t decided yet. It still feels a bit like bullying someone with power?]
[In essence, it’s just one form of power defeating another. But honestly, I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. After all, that person was the one who started being unreasonable. Why should you be polite to them? You can’t be too burdened by morality.]
[You’re just too honest. Most people don’t hate the privileged class itself—they just hate not being part of it. If they got to the top, they’d be just as arrogant and overbearing.]
[Thank you, my life mentor. I’ll try to tone down my sense of morality.]
[Laughs. But I feel like you’re just saying that. So, are you going with Secretary Xiao tomorrow?]
[Yes.]
[Are you two going to walk arm in arm? Maybe even dance?]
[??? You’ve watched too many movies, my friend.]
[I’ve never been to these kinds of events, so I’m just asking. Really, no dancing?]
[Of course not. Just chatting, eating, and stuff like that. It’s actually pretty easy to get through.]
[But~ you’re going with Secretary Xiao~]
The sudden wave of tildes from Du Yu caught Zhou Zhuofei off guard. She was simply stating a fact, but once those tildes appeared, it suddenly felt like something special was happening.
[Even though you say it’s impossible, I bet you’ve thought about it.]
At that moment, the water boiled, and the whistle of the kettle sounded. Zhou Zhuofei replied with a completely unrelated phrase.
“People strive to rise, water flows downward.”
After sending that, she tossed her phone aside and began making noodles.
About an hour later, Xiao Wang suddenly sent Zhou Zhuofei several photos of jewelry sets, asking which one she liked.
Zhou Zhuofei picked one according to her taste. Seeing that Xiao Wang was still worrying about her so late, she felt a mix of embarrassment and a strange warmth.
Very few people cared about her affairs so attentively. Du Yu naturally cared as well, but as the person involved, Zhou Zhuofei could sense a subtle difference.
Du Yu’s mutual support with her was more like the tacit understanding and companionship of family—sometimes blunt, but always understood. Xiao Wang, however, was different. Every word and action of his carried delicate warmth and thoughtfulness, always considering her perspective, making her want to lean on him.
She could only keep warning herself to recognize their real relationship and keep her position in mind.
After this mental counseling, she didn’t feel any clearer; instead, she grew more restless. She didn’t even want to play games and idly passed the time until late at night before going to sleep.
The next day, after work, Zhou Zhuofei went straight home to eat and rest. Once Xiao Wang finished his own tasks, he came to pick her up for hair and makeup at the styling studio.
He also brought along the dress and shoes. Zhou Zhuofei changed into the full outfit there, then followed Xiao Wang to the event venue.
With the full makeup paired with the dress, the effect was naturally perfect. Sitting in the car, Zhou Zhuofei glanced at the mirror and almost didn’t recognize the person staring back at her.
“Ready?” Xiao Wang asked before they set off.
Zhou Zhuofei knew he was still worried she might not perform well when she met Xie Huai, so she immediately straightened up and gave him a confident smile: “No problem!”
Today, she absolutely wouldn’t give Xie Huai even a single friendly glance—no, not even a look!
The event was being held at a mansion belonging to the Ling Family. Thanks to Zhan Zilang, Zhou Zhuofei had already seen a mansion before, so this time she remained calm and showed little curiosity.
As they climbed the steps, Xiao Wang reached out his arm toward Zhou Zhuofei and gently reminded her, “Be careful.”
The hem of Zhou Zhuofei’s skirt just brushed over her shoes, so walking wasn’t an issue, but she still had to be cautious going up the stairs. She didn’t dare to be reckless and obediently thanked him as she linked her arm with his.
The outfit looked beautiful, but walking carefully like this was far from her style.
They entered the event venue, where quite a few guests had already arrived, most of whom Zhou Zhuofei didn’t recognize.
But as soon as Xiao Wang stepped inside, many people came over to greet and chat with him.
The event was hosted by Ling Yu, and Xiao Wang was his trusted assistant, so naturally, he received special attention.
Zhou Zhuofei stayed quietly by his side the whole time, watching Xiao Wang greet each guest warmly yet politely.
His professionalism was truly admirable. Unlike her, whose fake smile would start to stiffen after just a few minutes, he maintained the same composed expression and focused attention throughout.
It was genuinely impressive!
Finally, when the crowd thinned, Zhou Zhuofei found a moment to express her admiration to Xiao Wang.
He didn’t look particularly pleased, replying, “It’s just part of the job.”
Zhou Zhuofei pondered this. Xiao Wang’s personality didn’t seem to enjoy socializing, and his demeanor here was no different from how he acted at the office. So all of this was just for work.
Imagining how often he must attend events like this, Zhou Zhuofei suddenly felt sympathetic. For someone who disliked lively gatherings, it must be quite a burden.
“Why don’t we…” an idea popped into her mind, “just sneak out later?”
But after saying it, she immediately felt it was too naive. This was Ling Yu’s home turf—how could Xiao Wang just walk out whenever he wanted?
Still, she couldn’t think of any better suggestion. After some thought, she just patted his arm in sympathy. “Hang in there a little longer.”
Xiao Wang was a bit amused and exasperated by her gesture. He had long since gotten used to this kind of life—or rather, everyone lived like this.
But hearing it from Zhou Zhuofei, he suddenly felt a little sorry for himself.
He was about to say something when he sensed something off behind him. Casually turning his head, he spotted Xie Huai not far away. She seemed to be talking with someone beside her, but her gaze flickered subtly in their direction.
More precisely, she was looking at Zhou Zhuofei, who was standing next to him.
Xiao Wang quickly looked forward again, taking a step ahead to block Xie Huai’s line of sight with his body, and said to Zhou Zhuofei, “Want something to drink?”
Usually, events like this would have some drinks and snacks prepared.
Unaware of anything, Zhou Zhuofei gladly agreed. The two of them headed to the refreshment table, where a dazzling array of treats almost made Zhou Zhuofei’s eyes go wide with delight.
Just as she was torn over what to choose, a young girl dressed in an elaborate, ornate gown approached and stood beside her, also lost in thought over the spread of tea and snacks.
But the girl’s dilemma wasn’t about making a choice; it was the design of her dress that made it difficult for her to move her arms freely. She could only make small, limited gestures, which made picking up anything quite a challenge.
Seeing this, Zhou Zhuofei took the initiative to ask what she wanted and helped her get the food. The girl was very shy and quietly thanked her before taking the snack and stepping away.
Watching her leave, Zhou Zhuofei sighed, “The dress is beautiful, but what good is it if you can’t even move? It’s practically a beautiful torture device.”
Xiao Wang nodded in agreement, “Some evening gowns really are hard to understand in terms of design.”
“Right? I think so too!”
The two of them chatted back and forth about it for quite a while, until Xiao Wang received a message that Ling Yu was about to arrive, bringing their discussion to a pause.
Zhou Zhuofei obediently followed Xiao Wang over to greet Ling Yu. She was quite eager to make a good impression—after all, he was her biggest reliance, and she needed to be attentive.
But what she hadn’t expected was…
“Zhuofei?”
“Huh? You’re here too!”
She couldn’t believe she was running into Cen Huan here, of all places, and in this way—there was no mention of this encounter in the story!
Zhou Zhuofei steadied herself and greeted Ling Yu first.
Ling Yu, seeing that the two knew each other, looked a bit surprised. “You know each other?”
Cen Huan, clearly not yet familiar with Ling Yu, looked a little tense and didn’t respond immediately. Zhou Zhuofei quickly answered, “We’re neighbors. We’ve known each other for years.”
After saying that, she couldn’t help but glance at Cen Huan several times, praising, “You look so beautiful today! I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“You look great too!”
They exchanged a few more words, but soon others came over to talk to Ling Yu. Xiao Wang and Zhou Zhuofei felt it wasn’t appropriate to interrupt and decided to leave.
Although Cen Huan wanted to say a few more words to Zhou Zhuofei—after all, in such an unfamiliar environment, encountering a familiar face brought her great comfort—her purpose this time was to play the role of Ling Yu’s companion properly. She couldn’t just leave on her own and had to stand quietly on the side, listening to conversations about topics utterly foreign to her.
But she didn’t need to try to understand them anyway, because Ling Yu had made it clear: the reason he chose her was precisely because she knew nothing about these things.
After Zhou Zhuofei and Xiao Wang had walked away, they started talking about Cen Huan.
“Didn’t expect such a coincidence—General Manager Ling’s companion is actually your neighbor.”
Zhou Zhuofei asked, a bit surprised, “Didn’t Secretary Xiao know about this?”
“Not really. Just yesterday, when I took you to try on dresses, I heard that General Manager Ling also picked out a dress. I thought it was a bit strange at the time…”
“Strange how?”
“Usually, General Manager Ling doesn’t prepare clothes for his companions.”
Zhou Zhuofei immediately understood. Ling Yu’s usual companions were all from wealthy, high-status families, so naturally, they didn’t need him to prepare their outfits.
Curious, she asked, “Is this the first time General Manager Ling has prepared clothes for his companion?”
“As far as I know, this should be the first time.”
Zhou Zhuofei responded with an “Oh.” That made sense—after all, the heroine always wants to be treated as someone unique, doesn’t she?
She couldn’t help but glance a few more times in Cen Huan’s direction.
Though the two of them seemed distant and unfamiliar now, in the future they would become the envy of everyone, a perfect couple blessed by fate. This world itself was created for them, and all her years of effort, winding and turning, had ultimately been for her to have a single line in their story.
Thinking about it, fate really was a strange thing.
After a while, Ling Yu, as the host, took the stage to give a speech. After a few brief words, the event officially began, and guests were free to mingle and chat.
Zhou Zhuofei didn’t have to try hard to find Xie Huai among the crowd.
The method was simple: just look for where the people were gathered. Like Ling Yu, wherever Xie Huai appeared, there were always a lot of people around him.
Following this logic, she quickly locked onto her target—and unexpectedly noticed that the girl she had just helped near the refreshment table was now standing right beside Xie Huai.
When she first saw the girl, her attention had been caught by the elegant but cumbersome evening gown she was wearing. But now, standing next to Xie Huai, Zhou Zhuofei suddenly realized that the girl bore a striking resemblance to him.
“No way... it can’t be a coincidence,” Zhou Zhuofei muttered to herself.
Xiao Wang had also noticed the girl and immediately understood what was going on. “Looks like it really is that coincidence.”
The moment Zhou Zhuofei saw Xie Huai, memories of that day flooded her mind involuntarily. She quickly averted her gaze and took a deep breath.
Once she felt composed again, she looked up to find Xiao Wang watching her with concern. She smiled at him and said, “Shall we go over now?”
If it was inevitable to face it sooner or later, then let the storm come on with full force!
“If you want to talk to Miss Xie privately, that’s also possible,” Xiao Wang said. After all, this was Huanyu’s home turf today, so he could figure out a way to temporarily pull Xie Huai away.
“No need. If I approach her alone, the little girl might get scared and think I have ulterior motives,” Zhou Zhuofei replied, trying not to look at Xie Huai but instead focusing on Xie Lan.
Judging from appearances, Xie Huai was probably doing well now. Though his character was questionable, he wouldn’t mistreat his younger siblings. For example, Xie Ya only complained that he was overbearing and hard to get along with.
Speaking of which, she hadn’t seen Xie Ya today. Seems like that guy really wasn’t doing well—he didn’t even get a chance to show up.
But maybe it was for the best he wasn’t here. If Cen Huan ran into him, today’s lively event would become even more chaotic.
Zhou Zhuofei almost laughed at her own distracted thoughts. What was she thinking about at a time like this, just watching the drama unfold?
She steadied herself and whispered to Xiao Wang, “Let’s go.”
